Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Tue May 15, 2012 1:10 pm

my top three are teal with super, and then you and mr. tokman at very high, but you have more of the bar filled in. well done.

Anthem of the Sun by The Grateful Dead (1968)I had been looking for this album for a while, and then I gave up in like december. and then scaruffi loved this album so I decided to look again and filestube found it instantly. What a guyThere are five songs, all of which are pretty long Scattered throughout the songs are layered jam sessionsas in, the band jammed for hours at the same tempo and then they cut it in half and put one side in the left ear and the other in right ear. As bad as that sounds, it works surprisingly well. The slight offness in the drums and the great panning and the mmmmmthis is especially prevalent in the first tune. and there's one part where he sings the same thing in both jam sessions and they're layered perfectly. I love it.Second tune is pretty alright. Has some nice use of vibraphone by the end of the tune it turns into a pretty normal dead jam. Then there's this pretty out of tune 2 minute song. talk about being out of place oh wow there's a short spanish sounding solo section, which is one of their better Alligator is a bit more of what I think of when I think Grateful Dead, namely everything sounds live and like it's a one take and it has a nice riff and well done percussion and it just grooves. Nice tune.It transitions perfectly into Caution, so they may as well be one song. Caution is so great, the mic feedback and the sound quality makes it sound live, even though this is all in studio. The song has a bunch of different sections and a bunch of weird electronic effects that really work well. I sure love it.wow, no lowlights? No song is worse or better than any other really, so we'll leave it as is

Highlights: That's It for the Other One, Alligator, Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)Lowlights:

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Wed May 16, 2012 10:19 am

Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky by Earthless (2007)If you enjoy listening to people shred for 45 minutes straight with next to no singingget this album.It's the perfect amount of heavy for me, so it might be too weak for some. Considered by some to be Psychedelic rock, I would classify it closer to stoner rock or metal, but that's just me. They have a great drummer, a guy that layers endless guitar and uses WAH and just rocks his own collective balls off, and then a nearly unnoticeable bassist.If you ever want to feel like coolest kid on the block, listen to the middle part of the first song while doing anything. Writing this review I feel like I'm saving the planet or something. First song is 20 minutes long ROFLSecond song is a bit groovier/funkier of a jam and less ROCK than the first, but man does it still jam. This album is so great. It sounds kind of Jimi-like in some sections, which I certainly enjoy hearing also, this song is 21 minutes long teeheeLast song is a cover of some 60s garage/psychedelic rock group's song. It's also 4 minutes long and has vocals supposedly, it's the only song in their discography with singing Again, a nice tune, but certainly the worst on the album so yeah there's only three songs and they're all great ROFL

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Thu May 17, 2012 11:13 am

Since I will be leaving tomorrow and not updating for quite some time, have three reviews babes

Psychedelic Shack by The Temptations (1969)The first temptations album I listened to I have reviewed All Directions previously and boy do I like that one, and this one is right up there beside it. The album starts out pretty normal, nice synthy stuff in the background, and then it quickly devolves into straight up psychedelia, which supposedly is really out of place for Motown. Second song features harpsichord, and it the ambiguity between minor and major chords sure gives it an interesting feel.Overall this album is much catchier than All Directions, I think Iíve had every song on the album stuck in my head at some point. Every song has its weak point, but it has its equally good part as well. This is true of Hum Along and Dance, as the verses are pretty lame but the chorus mmmmm it also has a wicked groovy outro solo And it transitions into the weirdest song on the album. Itís simply a bass line repeated for 8 minutes with a guy singing about enjoying a drag with super echo on his voice. Eventually some bongos come in, and then guitar and drums come in at the 4 minute mark. They could have easily gotten the point of the song across in half the time, and for that the song gets lowlight, even if the song is super groovyItís Summer is probably the cheesiest song ever written. I canít think of a cheesier song, actually. Just why :í(The next tune is entitled War, and the writer of the song was dissatisfied with their version so he gave it to Edwin Starr whose version is MUCH more famous. I gotta agree, Starrís version is much better, but this song is still nice We finally hit another catchy song. And how catchy it is. The falsetto guy nails it on this tune, well done.Last song is 7 minutes long and is another one that is probably longer than necessary but MAN those grooves. It at least has different sections, so thereís that.What an album, I forgot how good it was. A bit more consistent than All Directions, but the highlights are less good.

Highlights: Psychedelic Shack, You Need Love Like I Do (Donít You), Hum Along and Dance Lowlights:Itís Summer, Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind

Love Devotion Surrender by Santana & John McLaughlin (1972)This album is mr. Santana and mr. mclaughlin with their backing bands playing Coltrane songs for a while and then doing some other thing.It sounds way more Santana-y than mahavishnu orchestra-y, which is kind of disappointing, however the combination of the two is quite clear. So yeah, this ends up being more jazz like than rock like. But it has solos Also, the organ sound is super cheesy through the whole album. One review I read said that the organ saved the album, but I must disagree There are only five songs, but I still wonít bother commenting on them all ROFLBest song is one written by mr. mclaughlin. It has the best solo in the middle itís also the longest on the album Worst one is this quiet tune that takes the second spot on the album. It has acoustic shred The other ones are pretty great, but not as good as said good tune yeah So there

Highlights: The Life DivineLowlights: Naima

Traffic by Traffic (1968)Traffic, a band featuring one of my favorite musicians Mr. Winwood They generally have a kind of empty feel to them, so I wasnít a fan of the album on first listen. Letís see how we fare on this revisit. First song is kind of cheesy and folky, the guitar man has a super nice tone, mr. singerman though not my fave.Pearly Queen has a Louisiana bluesy feel to it, and mr. winwood is on the vocals which is well received by sir bran (cool). The guitar highlights are nice, and not to mention the great solos solos that pan!? WowDonít Be Sad sounds like itís from the 70s due to its country riffiní and southern rock ballad feel. Itís really, really bizarre to me. Sounds like a song Clapton would do. Is that a good or bad thing? Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring is just a jammy, good time tune. MmmNext is Feeliní Alright, which was more famously covered by Joe Cocker. If Iím being honest, I enjoyed their original well enough and that was the reason I got the album. So yeah nice tune.Vagabond Virgin is kind of childishly groovy, bordering on cheesy, but I think it stays afloat barely.Next tune is the first really 60s sounding song on the album. Oh wow another great tune. This album has taken a surprisingly baroque pop/psych twist and I for one love it No Time to Live is a slow, rather sad sounding piano tune. Not a real fan of it.Time to end the album go bluesy piano riffiní go oh yeah nice way to end the album. So yeah, it was about as I remembered, except for the great middle section in there.

Highlights: Pearly Queen, Feeliní Alright, Forty Thousand Headman, Cryiní to be HeardLowlights: You Can All Join In, Donít Be Sad, No Time To Live

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Tue May 29, 2012 6:55 pm

oh hello there

Get Ready by Rare Earth (1969)wowi've been assraping this band for a bit now, but the main song isn't on this album. I figured, "why not start at the beginning""how could a band that started in the downfall of psychedelia be bad?""surely a white band produced by the motown people must be great"what a lovely set of questionsanyway, these guys sound quite 70s. Think Doobie Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd but slightly groovier and with more horns and screeching guitar work. They remind me a bit of Lighthouse, but I doubt you guys know (or care) who they are ROFLalso interesting is the lead singer is also the drummer. rock on brotheryeah the whole album is super amazing and i won't bother commenting on each song since they're all great and i'm still easing back into this whole "daily commitment" thing.In Bed has to take the worst song role, only because the riff isn't as good as the others. also there's not enough minor chords so the grooves don't settle well Get Ready is 20 minutes long on record, but I'm sure you guys have all heard the single edit. This version is 20 minutes long because every instrument gets a solo section.

Highlights: Tobacco Road, Train to Nowhere, Get ReadyLowlights: In Bed

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Wed May 30, 2012 4:03 pm

Sex Machine by James Brown (1970)mmmmmthis album is made out to be live, even though like half of it isn'tIt starts with the (probably) most famous James Brown tune. and what a tune it is. It's amazing how james brown can take super simple melodies and repeat them for 10 minutes and they really don't get boringalso this is a double album so I won't bother commenting on the 1.5 hours of material!!!There's this medley thing that ends with my favorite song from a different james brown album. What a highlight that is.The live part of the album (disc 2) is quite amazing. there are ballads If I Ruled The World is so beautiful, and james sings it SO wellyou would never think sir brown to be a good singer, but he really is. I don't really consider what he does "singing" more than "enjoying himself in front of others"the tune then transitions perfectly into this super upbeat tune. I got goosebumps the first time I heard it.There's another ballad-y thing right after it, and it has a beautiful title. It's a Man's Man's Man's World wowLast tune has the best work done by the backing band, and in conjunction with mr. brown it just reduces me to a melty mess of flesh and bones. There's one song that is so out of place it hurts, and that is an instrumental (why, just....why) cover of Spinning Wheel by Blood Sweat & Tears.(EDIT: Upon relistening, it turns out there's another instrumental just before it, but it's not taking a song with good vocal opportunities and removing them completely plus it's funky and upbeat and has a nice organ solo whereas spinning wheel is slower than the original and just lame why man why still making it a lowlight just because no james brown )If I had to pick another lowlight it would be song between GET UP GET ON UP and the medley, only because it's the least funky tune. so yeah, wonderful album

Highlighs: Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Give It Up or Turnit Loose, If I Ruled The World, There Was A Time, It's A Man's Man's Man's World, Mother PopcornLowlights: Spinning Wheel, Brother Rapp pts. 1- 2, Lowdown Popcorn

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Thu May 31, 2012 10:55 am

3+3 by The Isley Brothers (1973)so yeah i guess i lied, i wasn't feeling sublime todayThe Isley Brothers were three guys known for their doowap in the 60sthen they picked up three new band members and completely changed up their sound (hence, 3+3)The album opens with arguably their most famous song, Shout That Lady Pts. 1 & 2. What an outro soloAfter that nice upbeat tune, we go to a slow tune. It kind of sounds like a Stevie Wonder slow tune (aka any motown slow tune EVER), but it does the trick.The album continues on a path of standard motown sounding stuff, but it sounds noticeably more 70s than the motown I prefer. It's like Stevie Wonder with worse vocals and no synth. four songs in, and this album is quite mediocre thus far. Now we reach a cover of a doobie brothers tune They use a synth and wah guitar hooray. still, there's something going on here in the production that I'm not a fan of. I wish i could put my finger on it.another average tunea cover of another song, I didn't realize I recognized this song though, which lead to some fun wikipedia'ingand another cover, this one of Summer Breeze, which I'm sure everyone atleast recognizes. I don't think this song should have ever been black-ified, seeing as the folkyness is what makes it great. However, they finally bring in the guitar player from the first tune again on this song, so I guess we can forgive them. Overall, I'm not a fan of Isley Brothers' singerman and their harmonies, as they don't really blend too well. and the guy's falsetto is so obnoxious. The nice thing about this Summer Breeze is that they give it an outro solo, but it sounds just like That Lady's outro solo but with less warbley sound effects.The final song is another slow ballady tune, however I actually like this one. Way to get a highlight sir song.so yeah, less than impressed with this album.

Highlights: That Lady Pts. 1 & 2, The Highways of my LifeLowlights: If You Were There, You Walk Your Way

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:08 am

by some chance magic of the universe, it's a new month which means I can assrape james brown so hard

Live at the Apollo by James Brown (1963)This is probably the earliest album I have reviewed yet.after enjoying the live part of sex machine so hard, I thought maybe this live album would be fantasticplus it's on a bunch of essential lists. Starts with an intro by some guy "THE MAN MR DYNAMITE HIMSELF SINGER OF SUCH SONGS AS..." and he lists the songs he'll be playing and the band hits big notes after every song title. then the band plays a quick little ditty and we're into james brown himself.first song has some neat electric guitar work. The songs are all quite short, and not as, um, chaotic I suppose as his later works. He certainly found what he's good at by that point, but this is more doowap-y and basic singing. how boring this is epitomized on Try Me. lowlight :'(Yep, having horns really adds a nice effect to this. It makes him seem more like a jazz singer than a FUNKY SOUL singer, which almost makes him a new person. ALMOST sax solo? don't mind if I do.The band does this strange thing where they play this brief super quick little ditty after every tune. Kind of weird.Wow, we finally find out where sir brown is going with his career on Lost Someone. It's 10 minutes long and it has cadenza work shame it's kind of slow but whatever. It's neither amazing nor terrible. the trumpet line is kind obnoxious over time.second to last song is a nice medley. once again, slowish songs. Makes it nice and interesting with the changeswow an upbeat tune!!!! way to end the album on a highlight. So yeah, kind of disappointing. He certainly becomes more interesting later in his career.

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Sat Jun 02, 2012 1:45 pm

Kick Out The Jams by MC5 (1969)I'd been meaning to do this one for a while but forgot.Basically, MC5 made this wow-so-bold move by releasing a live album as their debut album. They're also kind of considered the first punk band, or at least a big influence on the movement.I remembered this album by reading on James Brown's Live At The Apollo wiki page that MC5 was super influenced by that album. basically, here's what you need to know.a majority of it is balls out rock in fairly standard blues and pentatonic riffs and SOLOS WOW that are quite ahead of their time for 1969. and then there's also one of the first and most controversial uses of "MOTHERFUCKER" on the album.Every song is quite good and extreme except for the last song which is more acid-y and kind of ambientish and it ends with weird feedback so yeah, surprisingly good album. I really enjoyed it.

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:17 pm

Raw Power by The Stooges (1973)hmmafter liking MC5, why not move on to other proto-punk bands from Detroit?enter The Stooges, fronted by sir iggy pop who created one of the worst albums I've ever heard, Lust for Life.the good news is this is unlike that entirely!!First off, Search and Destroy. I didn't realize how lo-fi and screechy this song sounds in not-GH2. I still like it, but it's quite different from the GH2 version i know and love. also iggy pop's voice really doesn't fit the music at all. The outro solo is quite, um, well it sounds like I'm playing it. off in spots, a few bad bends, whatever. Still good though Gimme Danger is a bit slower. nice acoustic work and weirdly mixed shredding in the background. Pop's voice sounds much more suitable here. Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell is pretty much MC5 with simpler drumming. Pop sounds completely different and so much more, um, raw I guess. This is the singing style required for this album. it's a bit too long I think, but it's a nice jam.Penetration oh dear. Another kind of vocal-focused jam, which aren't my fave. Despite the nice backing music, gotta make it a lowlight for me for the vocal indulgences.Raw Power hmm, not too bad. Just energetic and riffy enough for me, the piano repetition gets kind of obnoxious over time, but generally a highlight because of the neat chaotic solo. Wow do I like I Need Somebody. He kind of sounds lou reed-like on this tune, but that can be forgiven Shake Appeal has hand claps it also has the best riffin' way to go larry and moeTime for the final and longest song on the album. it's as noisy and screechy as Search and Destroy, which is a plus. Nice shredding, but just too long I think. Length was an issue with Lust for Life, and it certainly was a bit of an issue with this album.so yeah, not too bad. I might have made it sound better than I thought it actually was, but I'm not a real fan of iggy's vocals.

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:35 pm

hello is this thing on hello oh wow hi thereI've listened to like 50 albums this summer and I continue listening and summer is over so I guess I will try to get back into the swing of things, but no promises. Let's start with my most recent assrape:

Arbeit Macht Frei by Area (1973)Italian progressive rock music Here's the run down: While progressive rock was essentially invented in Britain, the Italians took the concept whole-heartedly and made it their own.A similar comparison would be Canterbury Scene music and Krautrock. Except Italian Prog isn't completely insane and noise collages left and right.Among the four italian prog bands i've been listening to lately, the most jazzy, and frankly my favorite, is Area. Wikipedia calls them Jazz Fusion, which I can see I suppose. But then again, does anyone know what "progressive" REALLY means?The instruments on the album are pretty great. Utilizing saxes and stuff and very neat synth and hammond work etc etcThe thing that sets this album apart from the others is the vocals. Sure, it's all in italian so I can't understand it. However, the guy's singing style is ASTOUNDING. I wish i could sing like this guy.The album is six songs long, but there aren't any instrumentals, even if jams comprise about 70% of every song. The album starts with no music, just some woman speaking in what sounds like arabic. the first song uses some nice indian scales and is just nice in general.However the album definitely improves over the next two songs. Title track means something along the lines of "Work Sets You Free", some kind of labor propaganda (it was written above entrances to nazi concentration camps). Wikipedia says this band is known for their controversial and left-wing lyrics, so we'll take their word for it Consapevolezza has the highest energy and the most passionate singing, probably my favorite on the album. next song is a bit more melodic and some nice strong drumming and riffin'. It also has the best keyboard solo on the album the penultamate song is the most jazzy on the album. The bass really defines that, along with the really, um, chick corea-esque keyboard playin'. Also sax solo. Last song is really the only low light. It tries to be "deep" with a kind of ambient/white noise sound. There are little stereotypical jazz-fusion licks between every noise section. Then again, this song is an homage to not knowing how to play Whole Lotta Love, so there's that. They eventually reach a nice solo section, but it's just not up to par with the rest of the album. ends with more noise.bad news guys, i think i'm losing interest in guitar solos :'(

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Sat Sep 15, 2012 3:08 pm

since Italian Prog has been my past two week assrape, let's do last weeks now

Volume Two by Soft Machine (1969)Soft Machine is one of two best known bands to come out of the Canterbury Scene. The other being Gong (I'll review them tomorrow )on a side note, Mike Oldfield is said to be a Canterbury Scene guy, but he really is from London and just helped them occasionally. Yes' Drummer also originated from this movement.Canterbury Scene mixes four of my favorite things ever into a musical style: Jazz, Psychedelic Rock, progressive rock, and Witty Humour.Soft Machine's Debut pretty much established that Canterbury Scene was a thing, and I think I reviewed that album already. Basically, it's more Psychedelic Rock than the other three elements.Their third album (entitled "Third") is considered a progressive rock masterpiece. I might beg to differ, but that's just me Volume Two is about the perfect meshing of the Four Elements of canterbury scene. It's easily my favorite album to come out of the musical movement.Here is some information on the band: they have a bassist, drummer, sax player, and keyboardist. no lead guitar Their organ man decided to pull a Jon Lord and send his organ through an effects pedal. It gives a real nice sound.The singerman has a very distinct voice, but it's definitely not what would draw you to the album. His vocals are certainly the worst part of the album as far as musicality goes.The album is divided into Four songs/suites, but one is 20 minutes long and actually broken up into 10 songs and another is 11 minutes long and divided into 5 songs.Here are some highlights:Pataphysical Introductions/A Concise British Alphabet is a short song(s) where they just recite the alphabet and thank everyone for listening to the album. But man do I love the progression. Both songs are referenced again later.Hibou, Anenome, and Bear is the best jam on the album. It really does well. Dada Was Here has some super sweet fuzz bass riffin' and I think some french scattingThank You Pierrot Lunaire/Have You Ever Bean Green? is a song thanking The Jimi Hendrix Experience for letting Soft Machine tour with them, which supposedly got them a lot of exposure. It's neat.There are two really strange songs that use noisy sax work as rhythm while the organ solos over top, and they sound super great.There's really only two songs I would call lowlights.Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening is only a guy playing an acoustic guitar. It comes out of nowhere and does nothing for the album. plus it's vocal oriented Right after that song is a song called Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging. Which is literally just keyboard guy pushing as many keys as fast as he can while drum guy hits the cymbals as hard as he can with no rhythm. Noise :'(so yeah great album listened to it two times in a row when I first got it. 5/5

Highlights: Hibou, Anemone, and Bear, Pataphysical Introductions pts 1 and 2, A Concise British Alphabet pts 1 and 2, Dada Was Here, Thank You Pierrot Lunaire, Have You Ever Bean Green?, Out of Tunes, Orange Skin TunesLowlights: Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening, Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:22 pm

You by Gong (1974)In case you don't feel like going back and looking, I've reviewed two other Gong albums. I really really like this band. They're certainly the most unique and most consistent of the Canterbury Scene bands. Gong is like Soft Machine but with a wah-loving guitar man. Their vocalist is better and they have backing vocals every once in a while, which is a plus. also their saxguy gets way more use. They have the same influences, but they're a bit more jazzy than the other and they use more world influences. You is the third part of a trilogy of albums, called "Radio Gnome Invisible". The story is super convoluted and nearly impossible to following using the albums.In the first album, the lead guy, named Zero The Hero, gets some magic earring that lets him hear radio transitions from a far away planet called Gong (weird i know), in the second he travels to Gong after being put under a magic spell by a witch, and in the third one he is learning the secrets of the planet to bring back to Earth. In the process he gets cursed and is unable to open his Third Eye!!The first half of the album is him visiting this crazy temple on Gong. This is epitomized on the song Master Builder, which is just chanting and riffin' for 6 minutes in weird time signatures. However, I absolutely love it. Interesting fact: the song would later be covered by Acid Mother Temple for 50 minutes as a one song album in like 2007 or something. The album features the guitarist from Gong Before Master Builder, they do some recapping of what's happened in the previous albums and its all very whimsical and then out of no where comes the heavier and psychedelic Master Builder. They change styles left and right and its the unpredictability that is real nice.The next song is 9 minutes long, and it starts with kind of ambient keyboard delays. Then suddenly the drums join in around the 4 minute mark and a soloing keyboard appears above everything else, and then guitars and who knows what else. Very space-y, takes a bit to get good, but boy when its good mmmmthe song Perfect Mystery is kind of weird, even for Gong standards. Certainly my least favorite. The Isle of Everywhere is essentially a 10 minute jam on a progression. It slowly builds over time, eventually the drums get more groovy, but some parts get old even for me. For the most part, new instruments come in or things change enough that it's never unbearable.Last song, and the closer to the trilogy is 11 minutes long, much more fun, and much groovier. It has individual parts, starting with a wah driven intro, some trippy jam for a bit, and then a pseudo-bluesy rocker section. Over top of the bluesy riffin' is a sound collage of songs from previous albums. After that comes a kind of creepy, almost children's folk tune with little electronic effects over top. It just kind of repeats the same vocal line over and over, eventually the vocals fade out little by little and become more reverby, and a flute solo appears, covering it up. Kind of a weird end to a weird string of albums with a weird plot. But still, what's not to love?

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:16 pm

Since I Left You by The Avalanches (2000)Here we go. One of the few good albums that /mu/ loves Here's the main thing about this album: It is nearly (if not all) sampled music fused together into completely new songs.Even with that, it doesn't really have a hip-hop feel to it. It's more like dance music, but good dance music. Compare this to the other essential sampled album Endtroducing... which has like ambient and uninteresting tunes. So yes, I like this album. It's great. and it's completely out of my comfort zone. The first song is easily the best. My roommate once overheard me listening to the song and asked me when I started listening to disco music. Shame it's not disco music because it doesn't have a four on the floor beat or lush synth The first and title song flows perfectly into the second which is basically the first with more minor chords. They work great together. I will say this about the album, a lot of the songs kind of blend together. There are a lot of them and many of them are short, so there's little individuality, especially in the songs in the middle.Except for Close to You, which is essentially a medley of great melodies. great stuff.Other highlights include Frontier Psychologist which has this super powerful progression with a neat combination of dialogue from movies and tv shows over top. It's great. Etoh, which follows is pretty soft and kind of weird, and one of my lowlights.Other lowlights include Flight Tonight, which is just a super simple sampled hip-hop vocal looped endlessly. luckily it's short. The same concept is done better on Avalanche Rock, but it's still not great.The last few songs on the album are pretty great, mostly just referencing earlier songs.so yeah, it's pretty great, and I honestly think everyone can find something they enjoy on this album, regardless of their musical tastes.

Highlights: Since I Left You, Stay Another Season, Frontier Psychologist, Close To You, Diners OnlyLowlights: Etoh, Avalanche Rock, Flight Tonight, Different Feeling, Electricity

Last edited by Dr. Adventure on Sun Nov 18, 2012 9:36 pm; edited 2 times in total

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:12 pm

Per Un Amico by Premiata Forneria Marconi (1972)more italian progressive rock. This time, less fun and more SYMPHONICalbum starts with neat mellotron building, then suddenly a classical acoustic lick happens and then they repeat the lick with more instruments every time and then we're right into the heart of the song. I'm getting ahead of myself, PFM are considered by a lot of critics to be THE BEST of the italian progressive rock bands. I think I would have to agree. They blend right in with the ELPs and King Crimsons of the day, but with less, um, classical influence being shoved down your throat. Take the best elements of King Crimson and Yes and add italian vocals, and that's what you have.The first song has great melodies. It's constantly changing sound, but it's based around one thing. It's very folky and medieval in parts and quirky and organy in others. Great stuff.Second song has RIFFIN' and SOLOIN' and it's super neat. It's the most jazz fusion-y of the songs, but still it's not really jazz fusion I wouldn't say. Great grooves for progressive rock.Third song is probably the most accessible song on the album. Neat, almost pop like melodies with flute solos between verses. Lovely. Great echo-y violin solo too. Il Banchetto is my favorite song on the album. It has a nice and easy, very happy verse and chorus. Think "Your Move" by Yes. Then out of nowhere they change into this minor and very moving part with slow easy, fingerpicked chords and then the most amazing Harp and synth highlights. When that harp is played, I get goosebumps every time. The only part of the album I hate happens after this section, when keyboard guy goes self-indulgent on us and plays the most bizarre synth stuff for like 1.5 minutes. Then he plays normal piano and it eventually returns to the great happy intro again. Onto the 5th and final song.Geranio has some weird dissonant chords and harmonies through the early parts. Kind of offputting. Then it becomes this super upbeat and lovely 4/4 vocal jam. Eventually, it becomes this kind of strange pomp & circumstance section. Unfortunately, I have to make it a lowlight, but it's still got its great share of amazing parts. Really, all of the songs change styles ALL the time. There's so much creativity here. One of my favorite albums of all time.

Highlights: Il Banchetto, Generale!, Appena Un Po'Lowlights: Geranio

Interesting fact, looking back at my old reviews, it turns out 60% of them end in "so yeah, [album generalization]". I hope I avoided that well enough today.

Subject: Re: small times for formidable people Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:50 pm

time for a little-worded review

Baby Grandmothers by Baby Grandmothers (1968)A swedish band. With few vocals.I'm fairly certain every song on this album was recorded live with rather low grade recording equipment. There are some strange skips and over-saturations.The lo-fi sound might not be up to standards for some people. It took some getting used to for me.Basically, there's 7 songs, two of which are returns to other progressions. I think it might be a few different live recordings, but they use the same songs twice. But both times are made to be completely different.Only one song has any vocals, and it's just the title of the song once near the beginning and the end. "SOMEBODY KEEPS CAAAAAALLIN' MY NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME" Basically, if you like psychedelic, heavier, guitar oriented jams, this is the album for you.

Highlights: Bergakungen, Being is More Than Life [2], Somebody keeps Calling My Name, St. George's DragonLowlights: Being is More Than Life [1]